Only the beginning
I remember the days of walking around Princes Hill admiring all the building sites and beautiful homes being built in the area (nerdy, I know)…
This was the beginnings of SHM.
Michael and I were two young men without much of a clue about business or how to market a new building company but we backed ourselves that we knew how to build homes and we gave a damn for our environment.
During 2014 when we were just getting SHM off the ground Michael and I worked as carpenters to stay afloat.
But, midway through that year Michael unselfishly said to me ‘This isn’t working, plant your bum in the office and figure out how to get this thing off the ground’.
So, that I did.
Staying at home was easy but getting SHM off the ground wasn’t. We had a couple of simple non-negotiables;
1. The people we work with MUST care for our planet.
2. The people we work with MUST really want a beautiful home. (No cutting corners or cheap fixes).
3. The home MUST be an original (no replicas).
4. The home MUST prioritise energy efficiency.
Mick and I would meet weekly to talk of my progress but I didn’t have much to report, I was expecting him to get impatient, but he kept his faith in me.
For months and months I anguished and studied business to try and find a way for us to get our name out there.
Finally in late November 2014 I decided to reach out to some great Architects in the sustainability space.
Through meeting these guys we got some great advice and on the 1st of April 2015 we broke ground on our first building site in Brunswick. – Hooray!
This was only the beginning, from that day forward we’ve been head down bum up!
We’ve faced the typical challenges any startup company does but we’ve come through the other side.
We have an amazing team that are so passionate about preserving our environment, it’s inspiring!
We’ve now completed 15 amazing, sustainable homes in and around Melbourne and coming up to our 3 year anniversary of getting on site for that first beautiful, sustainable home in Brunswick.
There are many, many years ahead for Sustainable Homes Melbourne and we are only getting stronger and more accomplished in what we do.
We look forward to the day where environmental consideration is front of mind throughout the construction industry as a whole.
Happy 2018!
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